There is a wizard in Montague, and he’s been hosting parties at his castle for two decades with a simple philosophy.
“My parties are to bring people together,” Brian McCue, known affectionately as The Wizard, says. “Because what brings people together? Weddings and funerals, and Brian’s party.”
The Magical Musical Series at the Wizard Castle kicked off the 2025 season in June, and returned on Saturday, Aug. 16 for an evening of music, dance, drum circles, and community.
The venue for this concert series is no typical space. McCue spent years renovating his home to reflect his wizard moniker, which stands as imposing as Neuschwanstein, with the whimsy of a Renaissance fair.
The backyard on the 3.5-acre property serves as the concert venue — a valley surrounded by trees and wildflowers, with fairy houses, swings, a firepit, and a fabric dome with blankets and seats for a social space.
On Saturday, Aug. 16, under the mist of an afternoon rainstorm, nearly 100 people gathered to begin the night just before sundown. As McCue observed the growing group of guests from his deck, our conversation was interrupted by those eager to greet the mythic Master (or Wizard) of the House, including Alisa Wright Tanny.
“She’s actually one of the energies that keeps pushing me, because these things kick my ass,” McCue said of these concerts and parties he’s hosted for nearly two decades.
McCue and his castle have been the site of two decades’ worth of parties, with his Wizard Costume Ball becoming the most recognized celebration at his home just before Halloween, heading into its 29th year this October. He’s held reunions for his fellow Renaissance Community commune members, including for the 50th anniversary of the commune’s formation.
“There have been a number of marriages that come out of this, and a lot of relationships,” McCue said of his gatherings.
While he and his guests have a hard time estimating just how many parties have been held here, McCue feels these parties and gatherings keep him going, even if it takes a toll.
“It’s what I do. It’s my Seva, my selfless service. So I bitch to myself, but I don’t listen,” McCue said.
Tanny is a vocalist with Shubalananda’s Flames of Shiva, the western Massachusetts-based band led by Larry Kopp, known as Shubalananda Saraswati. The band plays each of the summer concert series evenings.
Tanny said the tradition of these summer concerts started during the COVID-19 pandemic to practice Kirtan safely, which is a meditative yoga practice involving a call and response to glorify and praise a kind of divinity.
During their performance, Tanny helped lead the call and response of “SitaRam, SitaRam,” bringing forward the divine feminine and masculine spirit, with the band mixing rhythms and chants, then taking instrumental breaks to fill the space with vibey psychedelics and jazz influences.
Tanny has known McCue for 15 years now, first becoming acquainted through those in the Valley familiar with The Wizard.
“We heard his name, and you’ve got to go to the castle, and then we met him, and we became very close, and he’s like family to us,” Tanny recalls.
When she thinks of these concerts or parties, Tanny says the feeling is beyond the usual get-together.
“I see this place as a community gathering and expressive arts and education center for celebration of diversity,” Tanny said about the concert series and gathering, saying the uplifting spirit McCue brings transmits to others.
The magic the castle has, which Brian created, infuses and transmits to everyone.
ALISA WRIGHT TANNY
As the evening continued past dusk, guests in their best jewel-toned, flowing summer garb descended into the backyard, filling the makeshift seats of lawn chairs and painted two-by-fours held by milk crates. While some sat, others danced to the music or practiced yoga.
Later in the evening, guitarist John Sheldon brought the ethereal sounds of layered, vibey guitar and vocals with his harp guitar, playing a rendition of “Message in a Bottle” by The Police, then an improvisation mirroring the sound of the crickets.
For both new and returning faces to the Wizard Castle, the message remains the same: the community created at the function is what stays with them.
“It’s a way of an environment for us to be together, and meet,” longtime attendee Dan Kinsley said of the experience.
“It’s pretty magical, and it’s hard to describe it. It’s almost a community,” John Fisher said about the Wizard Castle.
Fisher said he only moved to the Pioneer Valley from Boston a few years ago, expressing how unique the atmosphere is, and how welcoming McCue and other guests have been since he started coming.
“This was one of the important things of ‘This is something I’m gonna go to, and feel connected,'” Fisher shared. “I know there’ll be people I know, and I’ll meet new people, and it’s a very similar, like-minded crowd.”
In reflecting on his time hosting the concert series at his home, McCue didn’t use a magical metaphor, or allusion to wizardry. Rather, he was candid, sharing how he see’s himself as a community builder, all while making sure to greet everyone in his space with equal care and attention as they begin their evening.
“It’s my mission to bring people together,” McCue said. “And it works very successfully.”